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Thursday, March 03, 2005

Sometimes you just have to say WTF? House Republicans are seeking to add nearly $2 billion in defense spending onto President Bush's $80 billion war appropriation and, at the same time, cutting humanitarian aid for Darfur

Many congressional Republicans complained about portions of Bush's request, saying his proposal for about $4 billion in foreign assistance was excessive. Details obtained Wednesday of portions of the House bill reflect that unease.

About $570 million of the $2 billion Bush sought for Afghanistan's reconstruction would be cut, an aide said. That included $25 million for starting a law school and money for building courthouses and community housing and helping venture capitalists make investments.

An additional $400 million that Bush wanted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to control for U.S. allies _ split between economic and military aid _ was gone, the aide said. Some $150 million in food aid for refugees in Sudan's embattled Darfur province was also being excluded, said the aide.

CARE says that "as many as a million people in North and West Kordofan could run short of food from April until the November harvest unless institutional donors provide sufficient funding immediately." Of course, there will probably be no harvest in November, as more than 2 million people are now displaced and the agricultural economy has collapsed.

Sam Brownback and Jon Corzine are calling on the US government to press the UN Security Council to set international sanctions against Khartoum.

In an interview with Human Rights Watch, Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal says he was only following orders from Khartoum.